Part 40

93. And what is this city but Jerusalem, which is in heaven, in which is the kingdom of God? Good is this possession, which brings perpetual fruit. Good is this possession, which we do not leave behind us, but possess in heaven. He who finds himself in this possession says, _The Lord is my portion_. He says not, My portion stretches and extends itself to such and such limits. He says not, My portion is among such and such neighbours, unless haply with reference to the Apostles, the prophets and the saints of the Lord, for these are the portion of the just. He says not, My portion is in the meadows, or in the woods, or in the fields, less perchance in the fields of the wood, wherein the Church is found, of which it is written, _We found it in the wood_. He says not, Troops of horses are my portion, for _a horse is counted but a vain thing to save a man_. He says not, Herds of oxen asses or sheep are my portion, except so far as he numbers himself among those herds _know their owner_, and with that ass which shuns not the _crib_ of Christ; that lamb too is his portion which was _brought to the slaughter_, and _that sheep which before her shearers was dumb, which opened not his mouth; by whose humility judgment has been exalted_. And it is rightly said, _before her shearers_ because, on that Cross He put off what was but accidental, not part of His essence, for He put off His body, but lost not His Divinity.

94. It is not every one therefore who can say _the Lord is my portion_. Not the covetous man, for avarice comes and says; Thou art my portion, I have thee in subjection, thou art my slave, thou hast sold thyself to me with that gold, thou hast adjudged thyself to be mine with these goods. The sensual man says not, Christ is my portion, because luxury comes and says, Thou art my portion, I have brought thee into subjection to myself by that banquet, I have caught thee by the snare of those feasts, I keep thee in my bondage by the constraints of thy gluttony. Wilt thou not acknowledge that thou didst set a higher value on the indulgence of thy appetite than on thy life? I condemn thee by thine own judgment; deny it if thou canst; but thou canst not. Again, thou hast reserved nothing for thy subsistence, thou hast spent it all on thy table. The adulterer cannot say, _The Lord is my portion_, for lust comes and says, I am thy portion, thou hast enslaved thyself to me by the love of that damsel, by a night spent with that harlot thou hast committed thyself to my dominion. The traitor cannot say, _Christ is my portion_, because his wickedness immediately seizes upon him and says, He is deceiving thee, O Lord Jesus, this man is mine.

Sidenote: S. John xiii. 2.

95. We have an example of this, for, when Judas had received the sop from Christ, the devil entered into his heart, as claiming him for his own possession, retaining his right to his own portion, and saying, This man is not Thine but mine; my servant, Thy betrayer; to me, then, he manifestly belongs. With Thee he sits at table, but it is I who feed him, from Thee he has received bread, from me money; with Thee he drinks, but to me he has sold Thy Blood. And the event proved how truly he spoke. Then Christ departed from him, and Judas also left Jesus, and followed the devil.

Sidenote: Philem. i. 1.

96. How many masters has he, who deserts that one Master! But let us not desert Him. Who would fly from Him Whom Paul and Timothy follow, bound with chains, but voluntary ones, chains which do not bind but loose, chains in which they glory, saying, _Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy_. Bondage under Him is more honourable than freedom and release from others. Who then would fly from peace, who would fly from salvation, who would fly from pity, who would fly from redemption?

Sidenote: S. Matt. xi. 12.

97. Ye see, my sons, what they have become who have followed this course, how they, though dead, still work. Now we join in praising their virtue, let us also study to attain to their diligence, and silently recognize in ourselves that which we speak of with approval in others. Nothing effeminate, nothing frail can deserve praise, _The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force_. Our fathers ate the Paschal lamb in haste. Faith makes good speed, devotion is lively, hope unwearied; it loves not perturbations of the soul, but it loves to pass from profitless inactivity to fruitful labour. Why put off till to-morrow? you may still gain to-day; beware lest you fail to attain the one, and lose the other also. The loss even of one hour is not unimportant; one hour forms part of our whole life.

98. There are some young persons who wish straightway to arrive at old age, that they may no longer be subject to the will of their elders, and there are old men who would return if they could to youth. Now I can approve of neither of these desires; the young men, disdaining things present, desire that their life may be changed, the old men that it may be prolonged. But it is in the power of the young to become old by gravity of mind, and of the old to grow young by vigorous actions. For it is not age so much as discipline which brings with it correction of life. How much more therefore ought we to lift up our hopes to the kingdom of God, where our life will be renewed, and where there will be a change not of age but of grace.

99. It is not by indolence or sleep that we obtain for ourselves a reward. The sleeper cannot work, there comes no fruit from indolence, but rather loss. Esau, being slothful, lost the first-fruits of blessing, choosing to receive rather than to seek for food. The industrious Jacob found grace at the hands of both his parents.

Sidenote: Rom. xii. 19.

Sidenote: Gen. xxvii. 43.

100. But Jacob, although superior in virtue and grace, gave way to his brother’s anger, who was indignant that his younger brother should be preferred to him. Wherefore it is written, _Give place unto wrath_, to the intent that displeasure against another may not draw you also into sin, while wishing to resist and to be avenged. If you will consent to yield you may remove the blame both from yourself and from him. Imitate the patriarch, who by his mother’s advice went into a far country. And who was this mother? Rebecca, that is, patience. For who could give this counsel but patience? The mother loved her son, and chose that he should be separated from herself rather than from God. And thus as a good mother she gave benefits to both her sons, but on her younger son she conferred a blessing which he had power to keep. For she did not prefer one son to the other, but she preferred diligence to sloth, faith to unbelief. And even on her elder son she conferred no little favour, for she sent away the younger, to save him from unworthy fratricide.

Sidenote: S. John i. 29.

Sidenote: S. Matt. xviii. 21.

101. His piety not his fault having thus banished him from his parents, he conversed with God, he increased in his estate, in his children, in grace. Nor was he elated by these things on meeting with his brother, but he humbled himself and did obeisance, not to his brother, implacable as he was, but to God Whom in his person he honoured. Therefore he bowed down to him seven times, being the number which signifies remission, for it was not a man that he adored, but Him of Whom He foresaw in spirit that He should come in the flesh, _to take away the sins of the world_. And this mystery is unfolded to you in the reply of Peter, who says, _How oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him, till seven times?_ Thus you see this forgiveness of sins is a type of that great sabbath, of that perpetual rest of grace; and therefore it receives the gift of contemplation.

Sidenote: Gen. xxxiii. 6.

Sidenote: S. Matt. xviii. 22.

102. But what is the meaning of his setting in array his wives, and sons, and all his servants, and commanding them to bow themselves to the earth? It was not to the earth, as an element, which is often filled with blood, which is the receptacle of crimes, and which is made hideous by desolate rocks, or by precipices, or by a barren and hungry soil, but as that Flesh Which was to be our salvation. And perhaps this is that mystery which the Lord has taught thee in the words, _I say not unto thee, until seven times, but, until seventy times seven_.

Sidenote: Col. iii. 13.

Sidenote: Ps. cix. 4.

Sidenote: Ps. cix. 28.

103. Do ye therefore forgive the wrongs done to you, that ye may be the sons of Jacob. Be not provoked as was Esau. Imitate holy David, who as a good teacher, has left us an example in the words, _For the love that I had unto them, lo! they take now the contrary part, but I give myself unto prayer_, and so when men reviled him, he prayed. Prayer is a good shield, a shield which wards off contumely, which repels curses, and throws them back on the heads of those who utter them, so that they are wounded by their own weapons: _Let them curse_, it is said, _but bless Thou_. That curse of men is to be courted, for it obtains for us a blessing from the Lord.

Sidenote: Heb. xiii. 12.

Sidenote: Phil. iii. 20.

Sidenote: Exod. xxxiii. 7.

Sidenote: Ib. xxix. 12, 13.

104. For the rest, my most dearly beloved, remembering that _Jesus suffered without the gate_, do ye go forth from this earthly city, for your city is Jerusalem, which is above. Do ye dwell there that ye may say, _For our conversation is in heaven_. Jesus went forth from the city, that ye, going forth from the world, may be above the world. Moses alone, who saw God, had his tabernacle without the camp when he talked with God; and when sacrifices were offered for sin, the blood indeed was carried to the altar, but the bodies were burned without the camp; for no man living among the temptations of this world can lay aside sin, nor can his blood be accepted by God until he has put off the defilement of this body.

Sidenote: Gen. xviii. 3.

Sidenote: Ib. xix. 24.

Sidenote: Josh. ii. 14.

105. Love hospitality, for thereby holy Abraham found favour in God’s sight, received Christ as his guest, and Sarah, already worn with age, obtained grace to bear a son; Lot also escaped the flames which destroyed Sodom. And thou also mayest receive Angels, if thou wilt offer hospitality to strangers. And what shall I say of Rahab, who, by performing this office, escaped destruction?

Sidenote: Eccles. vii. 2.

106. Compassionate those who are kept in bondage, as though ye also were bondsmen. Console those who are under sorrow; _It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting_. From the one we win the merit of discharging a duty, from the other the stain of a transgression. And again in the one case the reward is yet hoped for, in the other it is received. Sympathise with those who suffer as if ye suffered together with them.

107. Let a woman be obedient not servile to her husband, let her offer herself to be ruled not coerced. Let the husband also direct his wife as her governour, honour her as the companion of his life, share with her as his fellow-heir in grace.

108. Mothers, wean your own children, love them, and pray for them, but pray that their life[275] may be prolonged above this earth, rather than in it, for there is nothing longlived in this earth, and that which seems permanent is at the best short and fragile. Admonish them rather to take up the Cross of Christ than to love this life.

Sidenote: S. John xix. 25.

Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvii. 45.

Sidenote: S. John xix. 27.

Sidenote: Ps. xlv. 1.

109. Mary, the mother of the Lord stood by the cross of her Son; it is no other than the holy Evangelist John who teaches me this. Others have told us that in the Lord’s passion the earth was shaken, the heaven covered with darkness, the sun withdrew its light, the thief, after a faithful confession, was received into paradise. John has taught what the others have not, how when nailed to the Cross He spoke to His mother, esteeming rather this exhibition of pious offices to His mother than that gift of a heavenly kingdom, which, after triumphing over His pains, He conferred. For if it be pious to grant pardon to the thief, much more pious is it that the Son should shew such solicitous honour to His Mother: _Behold_, He says, _thy son, Behold thy mother_. Christ testified from the Cross, and distributed the offices of piety between the mother and the disciple. The Lord made not only a public but also a private Testament, and John signed this His Testament, a witness worthy of so great a Testator, a good Testament, not of money but of eternal life, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, Who says, _My tongue is the pen of a ready writer_.

Sidenote: Ib. lxxxviii. 4, 5.

110. Nor did Mary fall below what became the Mother of Christ. When the Apostles fled she stood before the Cross, and with pious eyes looked upon the wounds of her Son, for she expected to see not the death of her Offspring, but the salvation of the world. Or perhaps because she who was the Palace[276] of the King had learnt that the redemption of the world would ensue from the death of her Son, she thought that by her own death she might add something to the general good. But Jesus needed no helper for the redemption of all, Who without any helper saved all. Wherefore He says, _I am become like a man without help; free among the dead_. He received the affection of His Mother, but He sought not aid from others.

111. Imitate her, ye holy mothers, who in her only and beloved Son exhibited such an example of maternal virtue, for your children cannot be dearer to you than hers was, nor did the Virgin seek consolation in the bearing of another son.

Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. ii. 18.

112. Masters, command your servants not as your inferiors in rank, but as remembering that they are partakers of the same nature as yourselves. Servants also, serve your masters cheerfully, for every one ought cheerfully to endure that state whereunto he is born; and obey not only the good, but also the froward. For what merit has your service, if ye serve the good diligently; but if ye serve the froward also ye have merit, for neither do the free obtain any reward, if, having transgressed, they are punished by the judges, but herein lies their merit if they suffer wrongfully. Thus if ye, considering Jesus Christ, serve even austere masters with patience, ye will have your reward. For the Lord Himself suffered, the just from the unjust, and with admirable patience nailed our sins to His Cross, that he who shall imitate Him may wash away his sins in His blood.

113. In short, turn all of you to the Lord Jesus. Take pleasure in this life so that it be with a good conscience; let the hope of immortality make you patient of death, let your assurance of the resurrection be confirmed by the grace of Christ; let there be truth and simplicity, faith and confidence, abstinence and holiness, industry and sobriety, modest conversation, learning without vanity, sobriety of doctrine, faith not intoxicated by heresy. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen.

LETTER LXIV[277]

S. AMBROSE replies to Irenæus, who had asked why the manna, which was given to the children of Israel, was not given now, that the Body of Christ, Which is given to Christians, is the true Manna, of which the other was a type; as it was also of Divine Wisdom, which is the food of souls.

AMBROSE TO IRENÆUS, GREETING.

Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiii. 10.

Sidenote: S. John vi. 58.

1. YOU ask me why the Lord God does not now rain manna as He did on our fathers. If you consider, He does rain manna from heaven on those who serve Him, and that day by day. The earthly manna indeed is to this very day found in many places, but it is not now an event so miraculous because _that which is perfect is come_. Now _that which is perfect_ is the Bread from heaven, the Body born of the Virgin, as to which the Gospel sufficiently instructs us. O how greatly does this excel what went before it! For they who eat that manna or bread, are dead, _but he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever_.

Sidenote: S. Matt. iv. 4.

Sidenote: Exod. xvi. 15, 16.

Sidenote: Prov. xvi. 24.

2. But there is also a spiritual manna, the dew that is of spiritual Wisdom, which descends from heaven upon those who sincerely seek for it, and which waters the souls of the righteous, and puts sweetness into their mouths. Wherefore he who comprehends this out-pouring of divine wisdom receives pleasure from it, nor requires any other food, _nor lives by bread alone, but by every word of God_. He who is more curious, will ask what that is which is sweeter than honey. The servant of God answers him, _This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat_. And hear further what this bread is, _the word_, he says, _which the Lord hath commanded_. Now this food so commanded by God nourishes the soul of the wise, imparting light and sweetness, brightened by the beams of truth, and communicating to it the soothing sweetness of divers virtues and the word of wisdom like that of an honey-comb; for _pleasant words_, it is written in the Proverbs, _are as an honey-comb_.

Sidenote: S. Luke xiii. 19.

Sidenote: Ib. xvii. 6.

Sidenote: Ib. xiii. 21.

Sidenote: Exod. xxxii. 20.

Sidenote: S. Matt. xxiv. 41.

3. And now hear the reason why it was small; it was because a grain of mustard-seed which is compared to the kingdom of heaven is also small, and because faith, which is as a grain of mustard-seed, can remove mountains and cast them into the sea. Again, _the kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened_. Again, Moses ground the head of the golden calf to powder, and cast it into water, and made the people drink of it; for their heart was hardened by the greatness of their perfidy, and he did thus that it might be softened and made refined by faith. Lastly, that woman who grinds meal well and fine shall be taken, but she who grinds ill shall be left.

Sidenote: Cant. iii. 6.

4. Follow then these examples as regards thy faith, that thou mayest be like that soul which excites in itself the love of Christ, and which, as it ascends aloft, is admired by the host of heaven; that it may rise without impediment, that it may soar above this world with joy and gladness, lifting itself on high like the vine stock and like the smoke, sending forth the fragrance of a holy resurrection, and the sweetness of faith, as it is written, _Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like the stock of vine burned with smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of ointment?_

Sidenote: Exod. xxx. 8.

Sidenote: Ps. cxli. 2.

Sidenote: Rev. viii. 3, 4.

5. The refined nature of this faith is well expressed by being compared with powder or by the mention of perfume; for we read in Exodus of that prophetic incense which is the prayer of the Saints, as being a subtile perfume and compounded of many things, that it may be set forth in the sight of the Lord, as David also says, _Let my prayer be set forth in Thy sight as the incense_. And so it is in the Greek also, κατευθυνθήτω ἡ προσευχή μου ὡς θυμίαμα ἐνώπιον σου. And in the Revelation of John we read that _an Angel stood at the Altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense_, it is said, _with the prayers of the Saints, ascended up before God out of the Angel’s hand_.

Sidenote: Cant. vii. 2.

6. Small too is the navel and the belly of that soul which ascends up to Christ, and therefore it is praised by the words of the spouse saying, _Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor, thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies_. For it is rounded and polished with all kinds of learning, and is a spiritual drink not failing in fulness, and in the knowledge of heavenly secrets. The belly of the soul is also like the navel, mystical, and not only strong food whereby the heart is strengthened, but also sweet and flowery food whereby it is delighted, is received therein. And perhaps this is what Moses meant, that by many and pious prayers the sacrilege was to be atoned for.

Sidenote: Wisd. vii. 22.

Sidenote: Rev. xviii. 22.

7. In the book of Kings also, when the Lord revealed Himself to holy Elijah, a small still voice was first heard, and then the Lord revealed Himself to him; thereby to teach us that bodily things are solid and gross, but such as are spiritual tender and so fine as not to be perceptible to the eye. In the same way we read in the book of Wisdom that the Spirit of Wisdom is subtile and lively _for in her is an understanding spirit, holy, one only, manifold, subtile and lively_; and she grinds her words before she speaks, that neither her mode of speech nor her meaning may give offence. Lastly, it shall be said to Babylon herself, when about to be destroyed, _And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee_.